


The Hardware Store

by imaginationdaydreams



Category: Ground Control (Movie)
Genre: Age Difference, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Honesty, May/December Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:40:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24355966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginationdaydreams/pseuds/imaginationdaydreams
Summary: "Where are you going?" Susan asked the resourceful mechanic incredulously. "The hardware store," he answered, holding up the circuit board with a pair of pliers.This is a story in which the unsung hero of Ground Control falls in love with the hardware store owner's daughter.
Relationships: John Quinn/Original Female Character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	The Hardware Store

The bell above Stan's Hardware store's door clanged with a noise only bronze and tin can make.

A man intently preoccupied and holding a circuit board up with a pair of pliers muttered to himself, "Requisition form... months ago..."

With determination he hurried off past the front desk where I stood checking order forms, down an aisle, and I leaned over my desk to watch him disappear around the corner.

"I think forty-one should cover it," he said, tossing an assortment of welding supplies down on the counter as he recounted it.

Taking a handful of bills from the wallet in the back pocket of his cuffed, black jeans, our gaze met as he handed the money to me.

"You're not Stan," he realized.

"You're right. I'm his daughter. I'm covering while he visits his brother in Vermont," I said, taking the bills from his hands. It seemed like an odd way of doing business, but he and dad probably did this all the time.

Then he gathered the items back up into his arms before I could bag them.

"Well, I hope he has a good-- long vacation," he said in a thought-out, staccato sort of way.

Paired with the way he looked at me, it made me realize what he meant. Before I could think to respond, he started to leave and my chest got a little heavy as I watched, but turning towards me to push the glass door open with his shoulder, he paused, looked at me like he was going to say something, and then left. The only noise was the bell.

~

I was in the bolt isle the next day when he came around the corner and selected something off a high shelf, having to stand on his toes a bit to do it, and focusing on the item, he did not appear to notice me.

"Did everything work out okay last night?" I asked him.

"Oh, it's you," he remarked, shifting his mind back to his surroundings. "Yeah, it was a life saver, literally."

I just had to ask now, "What is it you do?"

"I am a computer mechanic at the airport."

"That must be exciting."

He nodded. "Yeah, you could call it that-- Would you like to go out for lunch sometime?"

"I'd love to."

"How's tomorrow?"

"How's today?" I asked eagerly. "You've seen my place of work, maybe you could show me yours?"

"You'd really like that?" he said, thinly hiding his amusement at a our slight innuendos. "It's just a bunch of outdated computers and tangled wires."

I wanted to shatter his doubt, but also didn't want to force him, so I explained, "I like seeing people in their element. I mean, we don't have to..."

"No," he said, motioning his sentiment in the air with his hand. "That's fine, more than fine. You just surprise me is all."

We stopped to just look at each other. He had a wonderfully relaxed and practical style that just emanated good-character.

"I'll get you cleared and then I'll meet you at the west gate in an hour. How's that?" he finally broke the silence.

"I look forward to it," I said, walking past him towards the back of the store, catching a warmth off him and a natural, deep note of a scent best described as vanilla.

I glanced over my shoulder back at him as I reached the end of the aisle. He did the same and his smile was boyish as he caught me looking back at him too. The little brown watch on my wrist read 11:23. For the next hour my mind was anywhere but Stan's Hardware store.

~

West gate visitor parking' read the sign he leaned against, waiting for me. I glanced at my watch again for the thousandth time. Nope, I wasn't late, he was just as eager as I was. Neither of us knew what to say. He handed me a guest badge. I didn't know what to do with it.

"May I?" he asked, sensing my confusion.

I held my breath as he gently pulled the waist-band of my skirt away from my body enough to slip his fingers between the two and clipped it onto the left-hand side to match the way he had his. My body shivered. Hopefully he would think it was because of the chill in the air, not just excitement. Maybe he wouldn't notice.

"Oh, here," he said, slipping out of his olive-grey jacket and putting it around my shoulders, "it is a bit of a walk. What are you doing out here without a coat, young lady?"

"I wasn't really thinking; my mind was elsewhere," I said, wrapping the jacket around myself.

It was comically large on me and gave that same feeling as when I walked passed him in the aisle earlier. I got lost in it.

"Thanks," I finally remembered to say.

"No problem."

He smiled to himself at how I looked. _I got a little distracted too_ , he wanted to say.

"Well, right this way," he said, shaking himself from his thoughts and guiding me with him by a hand on my shoulder.

We passed through the steel gates of the high, chain-length fence surrounding the place. Men and women in button down shirts occasionally passed by us and a few gave us a second look. He pointed out the various buildings, but it wasn't until he started talking about the computers that his eyes lit-up. Then he opened the door to where he spent the majority of his time and he became even more relaxed and self-assured.

"So, are there any questions I can answer for you or are you absolutely, totally, and completely bored?" he asked, sitting on the edge of his desk.

"I wouldn't even know what to ask about all the technical stuff, but what about you? I mean, I don't even know your name," I said frankly.

"Oh my goodness, you're right," he said, resting his head forward in embarrassment on his fist and pinching the skin between his eyebrows.

"I'm Liv Donovan," I said, offering him my hand.

John Quinn," he replied. "Nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," I replied.

He was so handsome my heart had to be beating noticeably. His handshake was firm and polite, like one you'd give when you've made a good business deal with someone.

So, I usually am caught up in whatever I'm doing and forget to eat lunch entirely, but I've heard the cafeteria here is actually quite nice or I can take you out someplace in town; whatever you would like," he told me.

"Well, if it is up to me, and seeing as how you usually skip lunch, why don't we just stay here and... get to know each other?" I suggested.

He didn't say anything for a moment, obviously thinking hard again.

"What?" asked him with a small laugh.

He came back to his surroundings.

"Fine, that's fine," he said, standing up quickly from his desk and adjusting a few buttons on one of the large machines.

Are you nervous?" I asked him, brazenly.

He pointed to himself. "Me? Nervous? ...Absolutely."

The room was much warmer than the rest of the building with all the activity from the computers, so I folded up his jacket nicely and he put it on top of a file cabinet.

"I really like you," I admitted. "I hardly even know you and I don't know all the reasons why, but I like you."

He searched my face and flashed a little half-smile. "You've a very honest person, Liv."

"No, I'm not," I had to disagree, "not about everything."

"Well, I think you could be an honest person and I-- have-- a proposition then, if you will. Why don't we spend our next fifty-two minutes being completely honest with each other?" He looked at me completely serious and folded his arms across his chest, leaning back against his desk again.

"I think you're serious."

"I am serious."

"It could be dangerous."

"I can handle dangerous."

"Alright, let's try it," I agreed.

"What are you thinking about right now?" he asked me.

"You, obviously," I whined, knowing he would ask that as soon as I agreed.

"What about me?" he asked more specifically.

I ran my lip across my teeth as I thought.

"I like the way your clothes fit," I resolved.

"That was unexpected," he admitted, standing up and strolling over.

I let out a small squeak as he pulled me closer to him by my hips and reached his hand up to the side of my face as he kissed me. His lips were soft and mouth was wet.

My back was grabbed by his other hand and when the kiss ended he asked me, "Is this okay with you?"

I nodded, just wanting to kiss him more. My fingers held onto the lapels of his sage green, button-up shirt, which he wore open over a white undershirt, and it guided me back into another deep kiss with him. Easily, it was the most attractive outfit in the world, at least on him. He even wore black Converse. Not knowing what to do next, I broke from the kiss and buried my face in his chest. His heart was beating fiercely and listening to it made me realize even more that he was his own person; there was no one like him in the world and he wouldn't be like anyone I had known, which gave me a lot of hope. His hand cradled the back my head and he kissed the top of it.

"Hey," he said, "look at me. Are you okay?"

The compassion in his voice nearly killed me.

"Yeah. I just want to hold you," I answered.

Being completely honest was certainly the most efficient.


End file.
